Intellectual Investigation of Naturalistic Anatomy
or: sculpting from the live model.
or: sculpting from the live model.
Sculpting from the live model has many intellectual tricks. For one, you must overcome the fact that the model is constantly shifting position in subtle ways and any representation is a summary of a broad range of muscular-skeletal adjustment. The sculpture is not a copy of the figure, rather it is a culmination of effort regarding the figure. A large part of that effort is an internal dialogue, choosing what is a keystone of anatomy, and what is an anomaly of a plane-break, or a momentary shimmering of anatomy that may be ignored or included. And twin to any anatomical concern is the mass, balance, and weight of the figure as structure. The figure is a complex puzzle and one that I have always enjoyed engaging, as it remains the most difficult of any sculptural form.
This 1/4 life size figure remained as a clay form for years. I nearly ripped it down, but decided to pull a mold from it while I pulled a mold from the 1/2 life size Woman with Heavy Ball. The mold traveled for a few years with me as I moved across the country a bit, then finally was rough-cast in 2011 at a local foundry. I then welded and chased the figure. I'm glad I didn't tear it down, as it has a pleasing liquidity to the anatomical structure. The model was a dancer, and his graceful strength lent itself to the flowing sense of final form.
This 1/4 life size figure remained as a clay form for years. I nearly ripped it down, but decided to pull a mold from it while I pulled a mold from the 1/2 life size Woman with Heavy Ball. The mold traveled for a few years with me as I moved across the country a bit, then finally was rough-cast in 2011 at a local foundry. I then welded and chased the figure. I'm glad I didn't tear it down, as it has a pleasing liquidity to the anatomical structure. The model was a dancer, and his graceful strength lent itself to the flowing sense of final form.
